Rainbows on Cell Walls
by JL Wrighton
Summary: Ana's flashback in her room, of Duke and her swing dancing, reminded me of other moments I've had, and inspired me to write this, in which Duke does something romantic for his only girl. I hope you like it!


Ana sat on her bed, foot tapping impatiently, listening to the clock tick out in the hall. Duke was usually here earlier then this, but hey, what else can a girl get? She was lucky that he still found time to come every week, given that he had to protect all kinds of people and transport stuff and do everything else. He was lucky the General even let him go sometimes, saying that he needed some down time. But Duke still found a way to get the aircraft carrier every week to see her.

As she stretched, she heard steps come down the hall. These weren't the guards, who clanked with every step. The only sound was a soft thud of boots and light swish of fabric on fabric. Coming to her feet she saw Duke striding down the hallway, a grin lighting up his face on seeing her. "Hi sweetheart." He said, reaching through the bars to hold her hand. "They let you down here?" He shrugged. "The guards trusted me enough to give me this." He held up the key card to her door. "George said we have 1 hour to be alone, without supervision, but then the cameras come back on and I have to go."

He set a duffel bag down on her bed, unzipping it and pulling out a stereo and CD. "So...I just thought I could borrow Rip's stereo, but then I realized that your cell might not have an outlet, so I had to get one that had batteries, but the batteries were dead, and you have no clue why I'm doing this do you?"

Ana shook her head. He straightened up. "Today. You don't know what today is?" She shook her head"again. "The 21st?"

He took her hand. "Well, today is the closest thing we have to an anniversary. 5 years ago, I asked you to marry me."

She turned red. "I completely forgot." He finished putting in batteries and turned on the music. Lively swing music poured out the speakers and she laughed. "You remember?"

He smiled quietly. "How could I forget?"

Duke grabbed her hands and for the next 20 minutes they spun around and around her cell, laughing breathlessly, simply joyful at being in the other's arms. Finally, when the song ended, they fell back onto her bed, still holding hands. She cuddled into his arms, and for a moment, wondered at how incredible it would be, to wake every morning like this, wrapped in love. He sat up, reaching for his duffel bag. "Shoot, I completely forgot the other surprise. He looked through the bag a moment before hiding something under his leg and turning to face her. "After Storm Shadow killed DeCobrea, his entire estate went the company. Snake Eye's did me a really huge favor after hearing about you, and before they sold off everything in the house, he snuck back in and retrieved this." He reached behind him and pulled out a small blue box. Ana clapped a hand over her mouth. "It can't be. I couldn't remember what had happened to it." Duke smiled lovingly. "I promised you I would only ever buy one." She slipped the ring on her finger, watching how it caught all of the faintest light, turning the stark white walls into little rainbows. "I think five years only made me love it more." He took her hands again, large tan hands completely enveloping her thinner dark hands. "There's more."

"I talked to your doctor today. He said that the kill switch is almost finished. They've tested it against the ones they pulled out of your leg, and it's worked. They want to have a few more experiments on some lab rats to make sure it's okay before trying on you, but they say it's only a few more months."

Ana sat very still, eyes staring at nothing. A few more months and she would be free, free from this prison, free from all the nightmares. She could wake up in his arms every morning.

"Ana, are you crying?" Duke reached up and gently wiped away the tears. "I'm just happy." Ana laughed She leaned into his arms, inhaling his fresh smell. Sweat and his shampoo, the way he'd smelled in high school, after boot camp, and now. I'm so glad I have you." He whispered in her ear. She leaned back to look at him. Ï think we still have a half hour left. Shall we?" And they kept dancing, fast or slow, it didn't matter, because all either could see was the other.

_"It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance." _– Betty Midler

**Okay, now that you've read that, here's the background. The guy I'm heaven over hell in love with, I met learning how to swing dance. We danced for almost 5 hours straight and never stopped. I still love him, and swing dancing holds a special place in my heart, because of the memories of dancing with him. Every movie that I've ever seen after that, that has some cute moment or part that involves dancing now rings true for me, because I've felt that way and I know it exist**


End file.
